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She was, by her own admission, a "long shot" candidate. Radhika Jones, who will soon take over from Graydon Carter as editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair, was not expected to land what is one of the most prestigious jobs in magazine publishing. After Carter, 68, announced his retirement in September after 25 years of service, TheNew York Times - where Jones is editorial director of the books department - ran a story positing eight possible successors to him. Jones, 44, was not among them.

It was not until a couple of weeks ago, in fact, that her name first emerged in media reports. This week, her appointment was confirmed. So who is this surprise choice who seemingly entered the race from out of left field?

The daughter of folk singer Robert L Jones, Radhika is a cultivated and academic figure, with degrees from both Harvard College and Columbia University. No stranger to prominent media jobs, however, she has formerly served as deputy managing editor of Time magazine and managing editor of TheParis Review. Early in her journalistic career, she lived in Russia, where she worked as arts editor at The Moscow Times, an English language title.

The breadth of her career so far is likely to serve her well as head of a general interest title that covers everything from politics to fashion. As Jones said in an interview about her appointment with the magazine this week: "I’ve worked at a number of different places, and the more I thought about it, the more I thought that I could draw on different parts of my experience in a way that would be meaningful. But I always thought I was a long shot, so maybe that took a bit of the pressure off."

The pressure will be very much on, though, when she steps into Carter's shoes following his departure at the end of the year. While the Condé Nast title remains highly respected, the magazine industry as a whole has been coming under strain as it haemorrhages paying readers to free online platforms. It's a tough climate in which to operate, but Jones - as one might expect of an incoming editor - has struck an optimistic note, vowing to build on the magazine's website and events business to drive future success.

And if her recent work has seen her focus on the book world, her interests are by no means limited to it. While she describes herself in her Twitter profile as "Writer, doctor, book-club moderator, obsessive rereader", she has also professed herself "fascinated by celebrity culture," and told Vanity Fair: "I aspire to watch more television. There’s so much right now that you have to really make a commitment. I need to re-commit."

As for non-workplace commitments, Jones has managed to keep her private life remarkably well-guarded, and her marital status is, to the public at least, a mystery. Whether she will continue to enjoy such privacy remains to be seen when she enters a role that might well bring with it a certain amount of socialising.

In the meantime, hopes for her tenure of the Vanity Fair top job are high. Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue and artistic director at Condé Nast, said in a statement: “In Radhika, we are so proud to have a fearless and brilliant editor whose intelligence and curiosity will define the future of Vanity Fair in the years to come.”